My Sewing Career: Over Before It's Begun

I finally finished my fiber book that I've been working on for that last three centuries months. I'm terribly dissatisfied with how it turned out--mostly because I was making up my pattern as I went along, and I have no idea how to sew. The cover thingy for my binder was what stumped me the most--I mean, besides the actual sewing part, of course. I had this idea in my head, you know? So I worked it out on paper, made up my pattern, cut the fabric, and then realized that everything had to be sewn together in a certain order for this to work. And I had no idea what the order was. And every time I thought I had the order sorted out, I realized that I didn't. So by the time I was done, I'd sewn some things on crooked, and stitched across some things that shouldn't have been stitched across, and I'm pretty sure I jabbed the baby with some pins because he kept meddling while I was trying to concentrate, but I got it done. More or less.

This is the outside. The green thing is a crooked pocket that I have no idea what I'll do with, but it's there, nonetheless. I also didn't measure when I sewed my handles down, because one is sewn down higher than the other. 

I made the side panels zip down, so it could open like a book. Since it's, you know, a book. The zippers weren't terribly complicated to do, contrary to what I was expecting, but sewing the little side panels on was every bit as complicated as I'd expected. I know I didn't do it right, but I have no idea how it should have been done, so it is staying as it is. Plus, I hate ripping out, almost as much as I hate mayonnaise.

The top has a little flap with a magnetic snap to theoretically keep all of my loose little expensive needles and stuff contained within the bag. Someone sewed the flap on backward, and it wasn't discovered until much too far into the process to merit ripping out, so I just folded it down and stitched it so it would go the right direction. Which is fortunate, because apparently, my flap thingy would have been too long, had I left it as it was. 

This is what it looks like with the sides zipped down. I think I will have enough space in the top to throw my currently-being-worked-on projects and yarn. When I open it, all my yarn and projects will fall out, and I will be able to access all of my yarning accessories.

Page one, for double-pointed needles. You can read more about the guts of my book here, but I'll post the pictures here, too, because I want to enjoy finally being done.

Page two, for my interchangeable circular needles set and my cable needles, with spaces for my needles, cables, and couplers.

Page three is for my crochet hooks (front) and for all my little finishing accessories (back) like tapestry needles, scissors, t-pins, buttons, and stitch markers.

Page four is my ribbon and thread dispenser. I'm quite proud of this page--it's ingenious. And I'll stop gloating about it now. 

So I've learned a thing or two about myself through this project--mostly that I don't like to sew. Which is good, because I suck at it.

Still Feelin' Crafty

My last post? The one that I posted back on April 17th, about my Fiber Book that I'm sewing up? Well, I've done three more pages on it, now, and all that's left is to sew up the cover of the binder that I'm using, and then I'll be done! I have to say, sewing is not my strong suite. At all. As in, if I had to sew to save my life, I'd better have a funeral plot all paid for because...

This is page 1, for my double-pointed knitting needles. If I had it to do over again, I would have made it front/back pages instead of facing pages, because the binder rings make it not lay flat. I also would have added snaps to those flaps so my needles wouldn't fall out every time I flopped the page open (and that's the only way I open the page, apparently). Experience:1, Me: 0. 

This is page 2, for my circular and cable needles. The circular needles are interchangeable, so there's a bunch of pockets that I neglected to get a picture of on the other side of the page for my cables, couplers, stitch holders, etc. I learned that I hate sewing Velcro, and that practice does not always make perfect, because while my technique sucked on page 1, it sucked a whole lot more on page 2. Oh, and I did the whole facing pages thing, again. Experience: 2, Me: 0.

This is page 3, which is finally a front/back page. What? I'm a slow learner, okay? The front holds my crochet hooks, and the back holds all my little finishing accessories: scissors, tapestry needles, T-pins, stitch markers, and buttons. You know how I hate Velcro? Well, sewing ribbon trim and Velcro on the same fabric piece is really rotten. I know that now. Experience: 3, Me: 0.

This is page 4, for dispensing my ribbon and thread that I use for trimming. I am actually a little proud of page 4, considering that I didn't know how to sew when I started page 1. If only I'd cut my little fabric pieces so those darned stripes were straight. Whatever. 

I actually had a totally different idea which I won't detail here, but which involved suspender clips, spools of ribbon, pleats (ha! Because I totally could have done pleats!), and a visit with the Dahli Llama. Or something impossible like that. Anyway, it was a really complicated idea that ended up costing me $44 for suspender clips that I never received and for which I am now disputing to my credit card company because, apparently, customer service is as dead as chivalry and that deer I hit tonight, but that's a totally different story that I will vent about later. Suffice it to say, my idea that I came up with after the Case of the Disappearing Suspender Clips was a totally rockin' idea, and I love it. So, ha! Experience: 3, Me: 1 (because I'm taking this one, whether I deserve it or not).

I'm Feelin' Crafty...

I have recently taken up knitting, on top of my crocheting habit that I've had for several years. It's getting expensive, what with my yarn snobbery requiring me to buy only the nicest, most expensive yarns for these  yarning projects. However, with my knitting stuff crowding into my yarn basket, and my baby always running off with my hooks and needles, I decided to make myself a yarning book. I bought a giant 3" three-ring binder, and I will make four "pages" for it: one page for my double-pointed needles, one page for my interchangeable circular needle set, one page for my crochet hooks and sundry items, and one page for ribbons and buttons. So I spent nine hours today sewing up page one. It was my very first real sewing project, so please excuse my amateur stitching, but here it is, Page One:

Why I Need to Learn German

I spent all stinking morning, looking for a pattern that would show me how to do this :

Image from VintageHomeArts.com

I want to make a scarf, and and I want to try adding beads to my work, and I'm sure that once I get started, I'll find out that this was a terrible combination of ideas, but it looks amazing in my mind. Which explains a lot, if you know me. Anyway, so I spent all morning looking through google images, googling crochet stitches, searching youtube for instructional videos, bargaining with God that if He gave me a lead on how to work this technique that I would fold the 87 loads of laundry currently on hold in my laundry room, instead of making my husband sift through towels, rags, and baby shirts to find matching socks.

He heard my prayer. He answered me. My heart leapt for joy when I found a link on youtube to this video:

"Here it is!" I thought, "The answer I've been searching for!" And behold, I followed the star to youtube, and found the video, lying in the related videos sidebar. And after I handed over all of my gold, frankincense, and myrrh, I realized Something. A Bad Something. And can I tell you what a ginormous let-down it was when I realized that I do not know German? I mean, I can count up to, like, 67, and I can offer up a very passable "Good morning/afternoon/evening," and I can ask "What is that?" I can sing the fragments of Brahm's "Weigenlied" that I remember from my voice recital, But, alas! These are not useful phrases in crochet patterns. And all was lost. The End.

No, actually, given the fact that if I stopped searching for this pattern, I would have no excuse for not getting up and cleaning up the house. Or folding those 87 loads of laundry. So I kept looking. And then, in my darkest hour--success! I found this:

from http://crochetguy.tripod.com/id11.html

So now, I can put it in my queue of projects to start someday in the future, and I can spend the rest of the day watching the Justice League because I had such a productive morning. Laundry can wait, right?